The presently disclosed system and method relate generally to selectable indicia provided as a media overlay, and more particularly to selectable indicia with underlying links provided as a dynamic overlay for media streams such as video.
Numerous electronic devices are available that permit various types of media forms to be provided to an end user. Electronic devices are also available to permit the end user to provide responses to another party using various forms of input, including different forms of media. Examples of such electronic devices include hand held or mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), televisions and other communication equipment. Some types of electronic devices for communication are specific to a particular kind of media. For example, telephone communications have been implemented to permit end users to exchange audio information. Television communications have been implemented to permit end users to receive video composed of images and audio content. Some television communication systems permit end users to provide feedback or responses to another party, such as a broadcaster or other data collector, often based on the content of the television video.
Video communication devices have also been implemented that permit end users to share video information, such as in the way of a conversation or conference. Some of these electronic devices are implemented to operate in a digital mode, where digital information is exchanged over a telecommunication network to realize the video communication between the electronic devices. For example, a packet-switched network can route packets of digital information between end users to provide a communication network for sharing video information. A typical protocol used for routing packets in such a network is the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP). To provide substantially real time streaming media, such as in the case of audio or video conferencing, a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) may be used in a packet switched network. VoIP provides a number of conventions for handling real time communications in a packet switched network to obtain a relative quality of service for communications.
As used herein, the term “video” is intended to refer to media that may include a combination of audio and image representations, where the image representations may be frame oriented media, such as is available in the MPEG2 (Moving Pictures Expert Group) standard for coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. VoIP may be used to provide video services, such as video conversations, video conferencing and video broadcasting, as well as other services available over a packet switched network, such as message or file exchange, for example.
When two end users engage in a discussion over a packet switched network using VoIP, whether as a voice-only or a video communication, the parties often wish to share information that is not well suited to the communication method in use. For example, contact information is often exchanged between parties in a conversation by interrupting the discussion to verbally share such specifics as email or instant messaging (IM) addresses. The verbally communicated email or other address or contact information sometimes results in unsuccessful communication of the information due to misinterpretation of the verbally exchanged contact information.
Some video media offers the feature of a selectable link presented to the end user. Generally, the selectable link is static in nature, and often incorporated as part of the media or media stream. An end user can select the link to cause an action to occur as specified by the link. For example, the selected link may direct the end user to a particular web page or other internet site where information may be automatically obtained or exchanged in response to the selection of the link. Because the link does not change, and is not generally provided by an end user, such a facility is less useful for real time communications or updates to the media content or presentation.